Senior Director, Platform Partnerships

Index Exchange•New York, NY

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director, Platform Partnerships (North America) is a senior leadership role responsible for driving the strategic direction and growth of Index Exchange’s demand-side partnerships across the North American market. Based in New York, this is a high-impact, highly visible position that sits at the intersection of strategic partnership embedding, signal intelligence, commercial deal architecture, product intelligence, people leadership, and technical expertise. This is not a relationship management role. It is a demand activation role. The Senior Director must be able to operate credibly across all four of the team’s core jobs simultaneously: diagnosing and closing signal gaps that limit DSP bid quality; structuring and activating commercial deals; building joint growth agendas that shape DSP buying behavior; and routing DSP product intelligence into Index’s planning cycle. They must model what great looks like — because the team does not yet have that example internally. This role requires a leader who can operate at both the strategic and executional level — setting vision, coaching talent, and personally managing complex partner relationships. Travel across North America required.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in digital media or ad technology, with significant tenure in a senior partnerships, business development, or commercial leadership role
Demonstrated people leadership experience — including team management, coaching, and performance development
Deep expertise in the programmatic advertising landscape, with a strong command of DSP dynamics, auction mechanics, and the broader buy-side ecosystem
Hands-on experience with signal diagnostics, bid quality analysis, or technical integration work with DSP partners — not just commercial relationship management
Demonstrated ability to build and manage commercial deal pipelines across multiple deal types: open auction, PMP, PG, curated, and API-driven
Proven track record of building and managing high-value strategic partnerships at a senior level, including complex commercial negotiations
Proven success in business development and new partner acquisition in a competitive market
Exceptional business acumen with the ability to develop and articulate long-term strategic visions for partners and the broader business
Fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills and strong attention to detail
Technical fluency: Can sit with DSP product and engineering teams, understand auction mechanics and signal logic, design diagnostic tests, and translate technical findings into commercial strategy. This is not optional — the team’s credibility with DSP technical counterparts depends on it.
Commercial architecture: Understands how DSPs structure their markets, where Index fits in each buying structure, and how to close gaps between DSP buying motion and Index supply access.
Strategic: An expert in strategic account management capable of translating market intelligence into actionable growth agendas. Builds joint growth plans with DSP partners based on their commercial priorities — not just Index’s.
Communicative: Able to communicate effectively at all levels — from technical working sessions with DSP engineering to executive briefings with ELT. Leads with the headline and the strategic implication, not the operational detail.
Collaborative: Skilled at building trusted relationships across internal and external stakeholders. Orchestrates cross-functional motion — Technical Ops, Sales, Product, Agency — as a standard part of how work gets done
Accountable: Owns goals and KPIs and drives a culture of accountability within the team. Measures outcomes, not activity.
Player/coach: Carries their own partner relationships while developing the team. Does not disappear into management or defer on technical and commercial questions the role requires them to lead.

Responsibilities

Understand how each DSP’s algorithm scores, evaluates, and bids on Index inventory. This is the diagnostic and ownership layer that makes everything else work.
Map the signals each DSP values — identity coverage, contextual data, publisher quality, auction transparency, GPID — and identify where Index is not being read correctly
Own the signal gap identification and prioritization process per DSP partner
Drive joint test design with Technical Ops to close identified gaps; own the outcome, not just the diagnosis
Translate signal findings into commercial positioning and partner conversations
Deliver measurable improvement in bid density and win rate across the partner portfolio
Understand DSP market structures across open auction, curated deals, always-on deals, programmatic guaranteed, API-driven buying, and verticalized packages
Own deal discoverability and activation per DSP market structure
Drive deal pipeline in partnership with Publisher Development and Sales; own the structuring, pitching, and closing
Deliver incremental deal revenue and format diversification across the portfolio
Know the troubleshooting tools DSP clients use and where Index inventory is or is not accessible within those systems
Understand each DSP’s commercial priorities, the verticals they are scaling, the advertisers they are chasing, and how Index complements their motion in market.
Use earnings calls, press releases, and product announcements as inputs; be inside the DSP’s planning cycle before decisions are made, not after.
Own a joint growth agenda per DSP partner, refreshed quarterly
Lead DSP QBRs that produce decisions, commitments, and roadmap intelligence — walk in with a point of view, open with insight, walk out with a named next step
Drive spend growth tied to specific commercial milestones
Develop and execute long-term strategic account plans that deepen platform integration and expand Index’s share of wallet.
Own DSP roadmap intelligence gathering across formats, identity strategy, AI and bidding infrastructure, and agentic buying
Deliver quarterly product input briefs to the Index Product team; this is a standing accountability, not an ad hoc contribution
Advocate for Index capabilities that match where DSP demand is actually heading
Ensure IX product priorities are shaped by DSP roadmap signals gathered by this team
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing North America platform partnerships team, setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of accountability and growth
Drive talent development through coaching, performance management, and succession planning — with a specific focus on building technical fluency and commercial thinking across the team
Operate as a player/coach: carry your own partner relationships while actively developing the team on QBR execution, signal diagnostics, and deal architecture
Collaborate with global partnership leads to align regional priorities with company-wide objectives
Act as a senior representative of the partnerships function within North America, contributing to organizational strategy and cross-functional leadership discussions
Pull Technical Ops, Sales, and Agency teams into the commercial motion as a matter of standard operating rhythm — not as escalations
Build the operating cadences that make cross-functional work happen without friction
Partner with the Index Product team to route structured market intelligence into product planning on a defined cadence
Collaborate closely with global DSP leads to ensure regional activities align with and advance global partnership strategies
Serve as subject matter expert on partner performance and growth across the North American market.